President Akufo-Addo has challenged parents to play a lead role in educating children about unique Ghanaian cultural and traditional values.
Speaking at the 67th Independence Day Anniversary in the Eastern Region, the president argued that preserving culture across generations could not be left solely to the teacher.
“There is certainly more to moulding a Ghanaian child than what our hard working teachers do every day. Too many parents have relinquished their responsibilities of bringing up children to what happens in schools,” he bemoaned.
The president expressed worry several students have turned out of school half-baked with no appreciation of what constituted their real cultural identities beyond the books.
He contended, “There is more to preparing a child to face the world than what can be taught in the class rooms.”
“If we are to take pride in being Ghanaian; there should be a consensus on the values we all revere and we should transmit them to every generation.”
President Akufo-Addo called for a holistic transmission of culture that transcends just the food and the arts but lays emphasis on indigenous values that have moulded society.
“I do not only refer to our music, arts, dance, food, language and fashion that form the basis of our national identity. I refer to the values that set us apart as Ghanaians,” he elucidated.
The Independence Day Celebration witnessed a rich display off Ghanaian arts and culture with each of Ghana’s 16 regions staging colourful renditions of their dance, food, costumes and relics.
His reference to Ghanaian values comes at a time Ghana’s Proper Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill has been passed by parliament awaiting the president’s accent.
The bill which places inhibitions and proffers custodial sentences on the practice and promotion of alien sexual orientations has split the country with the arguments of human rights on one end and the arguments about preserving unique cultural values and dominant religious beliefs of the country on the other.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Ivan Heathcote – Fumador
